Discovering Gohan
by DJ Lee
Summary: Unlike the series approach to Gohan, he has fallen into a depression and vows to become strong enough to defend the Earth. When he enters High School, could this one stubborn girl open him up? GV The Wretched Life of Our Hero revised.
1. Mourning

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z belongs to Toriyama Akira and will never be mine.

**Discovering Gohan**

_Mourning_

Goku was gone and Gohan knew it. But he had no idea how he could act as if nothing had ever happened? Well, not exactly 'never happened.' All the Z Fighters grieved over Goku's death, but that wasn't really unusual or that hard for them since Goku had left them before. However, at that time he had agreed to come back to life. This time, he declined the offer, desiring to stay in the Other World. He had claimed that the Earth would remain much safer without his presence. Gohan disagreed. How could one of Earth's greatest fighters just abandon the people? Gohan knew that the cause of all the attacks and mishaps were not because of his father, but Goku thought otherwise.

Gohan looked down at his hands. They were battle-worn and calloused after years of training and fighting. Gohan clenched his fists and then unclenched them again. Nothing would make the emptiness and sorrow within his heart disappear. He was just too affected by Goku's absence. The young saiyan looked around the room he was now in and felt his heart sink. Capsule Corporations was his new home now.

A few months ago, the Ox King died because of a heart failure. Shortly after, Chichi died in childbirth. Fortunately Goten was healthy and had survived. However, the downside to all of this was the dragon balls. One would think that with something as powerful as the dragon balls, any wish could and would be fulfilled. That was not the case here. If one had died of a natural cause such as the Ox King and Son Chichi had, then one would be condemned to stay in the Other World for all eternity.

Feeling more alone than ever, Gohan curled himself into a ball and lay on his bed, crying silent tears. Life was not fair. Then again, life never was. All the pain and grief he had suppressed within himself for the past few months finally found its way out. Gohan poured his sorrows out through tears of anguish and guilt. It was such a pity that young Goten would never grow up to know his biological father or mother. The closest thing Goten and he had now were the Briefs. After Chichi's demise, Bulma had offered to adopt the young demi-saiyans even though she already had her husband and Trunks to deal with. At first Vegeta had protested violently, but Bulma was able to persuade the saiyan prince with a few Gravity Room threats.

Gohan felt his world caving in quickly. Everything had gone downhill ever since Cell had appeared. He was behind in his studies and he couldn't function as well as he had been able to once so long ago. Gohan took a deep breath to calm himself down. He would not cry—not now, not ever. Gohan wiped the tears off his face and closed his eyes. He was trained to be stronger than that. The problem was that Gohan was trained to be physically strong, not emotionally. The young boy had no idea how easily broken and hurt he was till today. The Ox King died two months ago, leaving Chichi to wallow in grief for the remaining months of her pregnancy. Then yesterday, she too left this world after using up all her energy to give birth to the powerful young demi-saiyan, Goten. Her funeral was to take place in less than an hour. Gohan took another deep breath and exhaled. He opened his eyes to find himself still inside the Capsule Corp bedroom. He had hoped that everything had been dream, but reality hit him, hard.

He could not be as weak as he was now. What if another dangerous force had decided to come destroy the Earth? What was he to do? Cry at his stupidity for not doing anything and for everything that had gone wrong in his life? No, that would be intolerable. He must be strong like his father had been. He must be at his best if he were to protect the Earth as his father had done. Gohan was currently Earth's strongest warrior and he intended to keep that status by continuing with his training. His eyes darted over to the far wall where an empty bookshelf came to view. He would have to catch up with his studies as well. What good would brute strength do if you have no brains to strategize with? Not only will he make his father and mother proud for the protection of their home, but also for being one of the most intelligent beings on the face of the planet. From this day on, he won't be Gohan the little boy who needed protecting. No, he would be Gohan, the boy and soon to be man, who would _be_ the one who does the protecting.

There was approximately half an hour left until the funeral. Gohan got off the bed and looked through the closet in his new home. He pulled out a black dress shirt, a tie, a pair of black slacks, and dress shoes. After changing, he went into the backyard where many of the Z Fighters had gathered around, talking and grieving amongst themselves. Today was also the funeral for Goku. They had never really thought of giving Goku one until Chichi had died. They thought that it would only be right if Chichi were given a funeral with her husband.

Gohan approached Piccolo who stood under a tree, isolated from the other Z fighters, and asked him a favor. The Namek agreed and held his hand over the young demi-saiyan's head. Gohan's body glowed for a second before a symbol was left on the back of his shirt; it was Goku's symbol. Gohan thanked his former sensei who only nodded in acknowledgment.

It wasn't long before everyone flew toward the cemetery for the funeral. After the ceremony was completed and tears were shed, Gohan found himself standing in front of his parents' graves. He couldn't tear himself away from the spot in which he stood rooted to. Gohan felt the grief overwhelming and he almost cried again, but he wouldn't. He couldn't. He shed the tears for his parents for the last time and that was earlier that day. He would be strong for his parents. He would make them proud. He and Goten would the sons that Goku and Chichi had always wanted them to be.

Bulma watched her best friend's child from afar. He was so young and had lost much. There was still so much that he could've gotten and had. But fate had chose to deprive the boy from any happiness. He was forced to fight when he was five and was trained tediously for a whole year by an alien who cared for nobody but himself. Then there was the trip to another alien planet where he battled a power hungry tyrant. After that came the androids and Cell. He was pushed to his max through fighting and studying, already excelling in almost every subject.

This child never had a really good childhood or a memorable one at that. She felt her heart sink. It was a really big burden to put upon an eleven year old. Bulma was puzzled at first when she saw the kid in a formal outfit and a familiar symbol on the back. Then realization dawned on her. The outfit was to worship Chichi, symbolizing the type of person he would become—a well brought up and intelligent young man. The symbol on the back was to worship Goku and his sacrifice to the Earth. Goku had done many great things for the Earth and wearing his symbol was Gohan's way of honoring his father. Bulma smiled slightly. For two wonderful people who had children with horrible pasts, she sure felt sorry for them. That was one of the reasons why she had offered to adopt the two boys. Not only was she doing that for Goku and Chichi, she also wanted to provide them with a home that would be comfortable in. She knew that Gohan and Goten would go straight to the orphanage and be forced to placed into a foster home. Bulma did not want that. She wanted Gohan and Goten to grow up doing what they wanted without any worries.

After what seemed like an eternity, Gohan finally turned away from the gravestones and looked at Bulma. His eyes were filled with sorrow and regret; though his face hid any emotion he might have been feeling. "Let's go home," he whispered to her as he got into the car.

* * *

Years later and elsewhere on a distant planet, a young girl around the age of sixteen stared cold-heartedly down at her parents' ashes. She had stood there for a few hours already and she had yet to shift positions or move. Her name was Victoria. Just Victoria. She had no real past except being locked up in a room to train with a hologram. Her parents had died through some alien disease a little while ago. For some odd unknown reason, the aliens had sent their bodies to her, even though she was thousands of light years away. Victoria never did like her parents. They were never really there for her. Heck, she could hardly even remember them. The most they ever did was provide her a place where she could get all the food she wanted, but was forced to train with this _hologram_ and watch tons of videos of battles that took place over the millennium. After watching the hundredth video, she had finally gotten sick of it and began studying subjects from other worlds and planets.

It was kind of ironic actually. She was just reading about how her home planet had ceased to exist because of a tyrant called Frieza, when a foreign space shuttle attached itself to the side of ship. Obviously the shuttle contained the dead bodies of her parents.

Victoria frowned. She was all that was left. She was the last Raishuian out of the whole galaxy. Victoria punched the wall next to her. Nothing happened to the reinforced steel walls. She sighed and ran a shaky hand down her face. She released an angry yell and punched the open button to the windows. Victoria grabbed her parents' jug of ashes and threw them out of the window. It floated aimlessly around the space for a few moments, going no certain direction and toward no certain destination. Victoria narrowed her eyes and extended her arm. A golden beam of light shot out of her hand and disintegrated the jug to nothing but dust.

She needed a real sparring partner badly, and not like one of those that she'd seen on the television, but a real experienced fighter. The closest race to the Raishuians was the Saiyans. Not only were the Saiyans slightly stronger than the Raishuians, but they also had the same capability to grow stronger with each battle.

Victoria found no purpose in her life actually. She wanted to die, but knew that it was impossible. She had tried many times before and had failed at each attempt. She sighed. She loved fighting, but she hated being forced to train in this frustrating room. Nothing had changed since the day she first set foot into the room. Which was one of the reasons why she seek the Saiyans for her sparring partner. If they disagree to a spar, then an all out battle will have to do. Hopefully she would die in the fight. Victoria snorted. Like that was ever going to happen. She punched a few buttons on the ancient machine and watched as a hologram instantly appeared before her.

* * *

Well, that's it for chapter one. Think of this as a little revision for **The Wretched Life of Our Hero** if you have read it. This isn't all that great since I have not decided whether or not I will continue having a beta reader go over not only my grammar, but my story development in general. My current beta reader is really busy and I do not want to bother him and I do not want to go through the hassle of revising the whole chapter again. Until then, see you next chapter. 


	2. Years Later

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z belongs to Toriyama Akira and will never be mine.

**Discovering Gohan**

_Years Later_

Seventeen-year old Son Gohan glared at the person standing before him. He raised a hand to rub the blood off his split lip and smirked.

"I knew you had more in you," Vegeta said with his own smirk.

Gohan crouched down into a defensive stance and waited for his opponent to make the next move. He waited patiently as he watched the saiyan prince struggled to remain in the super saiyan form after a hard long battle.

"I'm not so sure about you, though," Gohan stated.

The shorter man snorted.

The young demi-saiyan stood up from his crouch and stretched his back, enjoying the sensation of his tired muscles loosening. "I'm beat. How about we call it a day and finish tomorrow."

Vegeta merely grunted, walked over to the gravity machine, and turned off the mechanism. Almost instantaneously the force held within the room dropped to its normal pressure. "I'm going to shower," said Vegeta.

Gohan watched as his adoptive father walked out of the room and into the many halls of Capsule Corp. He was used to the saiyan prince's behavior and attitude around him. Vegeta never really did agree to adopt the child of his worst enemy, so Gohan understood the reason for negativity Vegeta cast upon the demi-saiyan. Shortly after Chichi's funeral, Gohan had asked to use the gravity chamber to train, but Vegeta obviously refused access to the boy. However, after some persuasion, Vegeta had agreed.

Gohan pushed the button to close the doors and walked down the halls to his room. Once inside, he immediately jumped into the shower. This was another one of those days where Gohan had a tedious study session early in the morning, then an intense training session with Vegeta in the evening. By now Gohan had read and excelled in all the courses to have graduated from college, but he had chosen to stay home. After experimenting with going to school for a year, Gohan decided that going to school was not his thing. He preferred studying at home. He had been home-schooled since he was a child and had remained home school to this day. Goten and Trunks were home schooled as well, though neither of them took the teacher seriously. Which was why Gohan had decided to tutor the two after their lessons. Gohan knew that Trunks and Goten wouldn't take anything seriously, especially during a lesson. However, when Gohan entered the room to tutor them, both children immediately focused all their attention to what Gohan had to teach them. The two boys had too much respect for Gohan. Gohan was always there for them and was the strongest warrior in the universe, though he hid his power most of the time.

The young demi-saiyan changed into his usual evening clothes and walked down the hall toward the kitchen. He was always hungry after training. He fingered the necklace around his neck as he approached his destination.

"Today's session was longer than usual," Bulma commented as she placed a jug of fruit juice in front of Gohan.

Gohan shrugged and took a sip. "Vegeta is getting stronger. It's only a matter of time before I'd be forced to ascend."

Bulma sighed and watched as a few of the robots placed dishes of food in front of her adoptive son. "Honestly, all you saiyans care about is getting stronger or what will fill your stomach!"

Gohan shrugged again. He hadn't been able to show that many emotions since the day he made his promise. He figured that in order to be strong, he mustn't have any weaknesses. Having emotions and caring about things were one of those major disadvantages. During the Cell games, he had cared too much about torturing Cell to avenge the people that his power went to his head. Therefore he had decided to seal off his most of his emotions to prevent that catastrophe from ever happening again.

"Anything new happening?" He asked in between bites of food.

Bulma sighed again and slumped down into a chair next to him. "I'm working on this new invention of mine, but I just can't seem to get it working properly."

"Can I see the schematics?"

She reached into her coat and de-capsulated the schematics. " I'm not sure what's wrong since there's no real error in the schematics."

Gohan took a bite of the apple he was munching on and then at the papers. He scanned the contents quickly and pointed to a certain part of the paper. "You miscalculated something here."

Bulma raised an eyebrow and looked to where he was pointing. "Oh, Josie wrote that." Bulma sighed in exasperation and brought a hand to her temple. "I need to fire that girl. She's giving me too much trouble and this isn't the first time she screwed up the calculations."

"Do you have a pencil on you? I'll help you fix the problems," offered the demi-saiyan.

After a little while, Bulma sighed with relief. "Thanks a lot Gohan. You don't know how frustration can cloud my mind sometimes."

He nodded his head and took a bite out of his sandwich. "If you want, I can help you calculate things when you're busy with another project."

"I'd love that Gohan. Just come into my lab after your evening snacks."

* * *

Gohan stared at the machine placed in the corner of his room. It was something he had created a few years when he was studying about the Saiyan rejuvenation tanks. He had been interested in how it had worked and decided to build one, but changed his mind and created something totally different. This machine looked like a rejuvenation tank, except the patient stood up instead of sat down. It allowed the fighter to enter into another world to train without being disturbed and was way better than the gravity machine.

Gohan took off his necklace and put it on the dresser next to him. The necklace was a little device he had conjured up a little while after he created this training machine. The necklace allowed Gohan to keep his power at a desired level to make training more challenging. Usually Gohan would wear it when training with Vegeta under his power level during the Cell Games. Vegeta had yet to ascend and he wanted to push Vegeta to reach Gohan's level. Once the Saiyan Prince succeeded, Gohan would adjust the setting on his necklace.

The demi-saiyan stepped into the machine and put on the facemask and waited for the tank to fill up with water. He closed his eyes and felt his mind and body drift away from each other slowly. When he opened his eyes again, he wasn't in the tank inside his room anymore. He was in another world where the gravity far exceeded the gravity chamber. The place was barren and blank. There was nothing but white for miles on end. Yes, this would the perfect place to train undisturbed. This was where Gohan usually trained before he went to sleep. In this world, he was free to train to his heart's content. Here, he didn't have to hold back, afraid to crumble the house or cause an earthquake. He could do what he wanted when he wanted.

The thing with this machine was that Gohan was not physically transported to this other world. No, the effects of training and what happened would appear on his body, even though he wasn't physically there. This was one of the secrets he had in training to become as strong as he was. After what seemed like two hours of training, Gohan decided to leave that little world behind and came back to reality. Only two minutes had passed in the real world where he had trained. That was the thing he loved about his machine. He could train as much as he wanted without having to worry about cutting into his study time.

Gohan took off the pair of shorts he wore and changed into his sleeping clothes. As he went to sleep, he had an unnerving feeling that something was going to happen tomorrow that he wasn't going to like.

* * *

"High school?" Gohan questioned.

"Yes," replied Bulma.

"You must be kidding. I went to school once and I didn't like it," he stated.

She shrugged and asked a couple of the robots to load the table with food. "Gohan, I understand what you mean about not liking school, but that was two years ago. People change so you don't have to worry about the kids picking on you because you're smart or because you're different from them."

"And why is that?"

"You're going to Orange Star High. No one will know you and you can start all over again. Now, you're lucky that I didn't decide to enroll you in West City High or else you'd be taking out your frustrations on the gravity chamber again."

"Just why did you decide to enroll me in school again? You know that I hated school and all the people there," Gohan said a little angrily.

Bulma stared at him straight in the eye. "Your mother always wanted you to have friends and socialize with other people, but you couldn't do that because you lived too far away. Now that you're this close to schools and people, you're turning down the opportunity."

Gohan shifted his gaze to the wall and kept his arms crossed.

The blue-haired scientist sighed and placed a comforting hand on her son's shoulder. "Gohan, please do your mother and me this favor. Just for the last two years of high school. I'm asking you that much. You don't even have to go to college if you don't want to."

After a long silence, Gohan sighed and looked up at her. "For two years, right?"

"Yes," she answered with a soft smile.

"I'll do it, but only because it's for my mom—not because I want to."

"Have you finished with your petty study session yet?" Vegeta demanded as he walked into the room.

"Yes," answered Gohan.

"Good, now eat up. I want to train as soon as possible," growled Vegeta. This was Vegeta's usual greeting. It was either that or "Brat, hurry the fuck up." The saiyan prince sat down at the table and began to devour the mountain of food.

"As usual," Gohan grumbled to himself. He knew that Vegeta heard him, but he didn't really care.

Shortly after, the two younger demi-saiyans rushed into the room, devouring what was left of the mountain of food before running off to play.

Just as Gohan was about to follow Vegeta to the gravity chamber, Bulma placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?"

"The Gravity Chamber," Gohan replied simply.

Bulma shook her head. "Not today, Gohan. Today, we need to get your school supplies."

"What? School? The boy doesn't need to attend school. He could easily take your position at this measly place," growled Vegeta.

Bulma snorted. "Just so you know, _Vegeta_. Gohan agreed to go back to school and will _not_ be joining you in your training today."

"What?" growled, befuddled. "Why would he want to do that?"

"I promised Bulma that I would go to school because my mother wanted me to," Gohan explained monotonously.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at both of them and said grumpily, "Boy, you better not give up on our evening training sessions. I'm only allowing you this day off for your _school_ supplies."

"Oh shut up, Vegeta," Bulma said exasperatedly. "Gohan is free to do as he wishes. Stop telling him what to do."

"Don't worry, Vegeta. I'll still train with you," Gohan said as he ushered Bulma out of the room.

"Gohan, what are you saying? You won't have time to spend on training if you're going to school," Bulma pointed out.

"What do you mean? I've learned all the stuff school teaches now when I was six. I can finish the homework and projects easily," he reminded.

The blue-haired woman sighed. "Fine. But I'm limiting your training time. Only two hours of the Gravity Chamber."

"Okay," answered Gohan. He didn't really care about the Gravity Chamber since he could do much more with his own machine. He never told Bulma about it since he didn't want the only place where he was able to unleash himself be taken away or duplicated. It was a secret and he intended to keep it that way.

After hours of tedious clothes and school supplies shopping, Gohan was relieved to finally be home. He had no intention of doing anything but sleeping. So he went straight to bed and straight to sleep.

* * *

Well, I see that I've gotten some positive responses from the first chapter and I'm very pleased to know that people like the revision so far. To **CW** who asked if I was going to discontinue **The Wretched Life of Our Hero**, I am not quite sure as of right now. It depends if this story comes out better than the original or not. Thanks for reading, I hope to see you next chapter. And don't forget to review and leave me a comment about your opinion. It matters a lot to me. 


	3. First Day of School

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z belongs to Toriyama Akira and will never be mine.

**Discovering Gohan**

_First Day of School_

Gohan hated being in this place again. The first time he had ever stepped foot in a school, a whole crowd of girls were ogling him while a bunch of boys sneered at him. Later, he began to date a few girls for fun and to find out what was so cool about them. Almost everyone hated him. Gohan had only dated three girls and he didn't like any of them. The girls annoyed the heck out of him and the glares he got from nerds and jocks were enough to drive Gohan crazy. He hated school. Then again, that was middle school. He wasn't quite sure how high school would be like.

As he walked down the halls, he noticed a few girls giggle and smile at him. Nothing had changed. Not only was he more annoyed than ever that the girls were still ogling him, the guys were shooting a few dangerous glares his way. Gohan had a feeling that he wouldn't like high school either.

Gohan walked waited in line patiently for a few minutes and grabbed his schedule. He had English AP first thing in the morning. Then he had Calculus BC, History AP, Japanese AP, Lunch, Physics AP, and Physical Education/Martial Arts. Gohan frowned. He really didn't want to be at school learning these courses when he had already mastered them years ago.

He sighed and walked down the foreign language hall. Gohan found his class easily and entered the classroom. The room was half empty. He laughed inwardly. He guessed that the majority of the students took regular. Gohan took a seat somewhere in the middle of the room. After a few minutes, the class began to fill up. He was glad that no one decided to take a seat next to him since he was really not in the mood to associate with anyone.

Eventually the bell rang. The teacher got up from her desk and stood in front of the class. "Welcome to English AP. I am Ms. Muffin," she said in Japanese. Then she decided to test her students and began to speak in English. "This is the most advanced class of English this school has so I expect you to do your best. This class will not be easy. If you think that you cannot handle my class, I suggest you go see your counselor now and transfer to another class, since you are only wasting your time in here."

Immediately, chatter erupted in the room and a couple of students got up from their seats to leave the room.

The teacher watched as the two students left the room, then turned her attention to the class. "Okay, so I see that the rest of you have decided to stay. Excellent." She picked up the roll sheet from her desk and said, "Now, when I call out your name, I want you to raise your hand and say 'here.'"

"Hmm… Brief-Son Gohan."

Gohan raised his hand and answered as the teacher had wished. He noticed that a few of the girls in the room began giggling. He felt like ripping out his sensitive saiyan ears just so that he wouldn't have to listen to people talk about him all day.

As the teacher was in the middle of calling out names, a girl suddenly burst into the room. She had long black hair pulled into two pigtails and bright blue eyes. She wore an oversized baggy white shirt and bicycle shorts. She appeared to have run all the way to class. Gohan looked at her curiously.

"I'm sorry Sensei, I was stopping a bank robbery this morning," she said in perfect English and in between pants.

Ms. Muffin smiled sweetly at the girl. "It's all right. I see that your English is quite good. That is exactly what I expect out of all of you," she said, looking at the class. "Take a seat, dear. Now, what's your name?"

"Satan Videl," she replied as she took the only empty seat left in the room. She threw down her bag and immediately took out a notebook and a pen.

Gohan watched her curiously for a while before he shifted his attention back to the teacher. _That was interesting, she didn't look at me weirdly or anything like the other girls_, he thought to himself.

The class went by pretty quickly since all they did was pass out books and review over the basics of English. At the end of class as Gohan was packing his stuff, he noticed that the girl next to him was waiting for him.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I haven't seen you here before. Are you new?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Yeah." Gohan slung his backpack over his shoulder and looked at her.

She smiled slightly and extended her hand. "I'm Satan Videl. What's your name?"

Gohan glanced at her hand, then at her face. She was certainly pretty even though she wasn't dressed up like the other girls. She had natural beauty which most of the girls at the school lacked. Gohan turned and muttered, "Gohan." Then he left the room.

Videl looked at him quizzically and wondered what had just happened. She lowered her hand and sighed. "What a nice guy," she muttered sarcastically to herself.

She hurried to her next class and found out that Gohan was in her second period too. However, this time there were more seats. She noticed that Gohan sat at a desk somewhere toward the front where not many students were seated. Videl walked down the aisles and took the desk to him.

"We meet again, Gohan."

He nodded and answered indifferently, "Apparently." Gohan realized that she was a lot different from the other girls he encountered so far and was relieved of that, but he still didn't want to associate with anyone. So he decided to ignore this girl, no matter how curious he was.

"May I see your schedule?" she asked.

"Why?"

She bit her bottom lip for a while, trying to figure out how to deal with a person like Gohan. "I was just wondering what other classes we have together," she answered at last.

Gohan looked at her suspiciously for a moment before reaching into his pocket and slamming down the piece of paper onto her desk.

"Interesting. You're in all of my classes," she said, giving back the piece of paper.

"Is that so?" he said monotonously. He turned away from her and just stared at the front of the class.

* * *

"He's so weird," Videl finished off. 

"That's weird. I would have thought that every guy would be bowing at your feet," Erasa commented.

"That punk doesn't know who he's messing with," Sharpner said, cracking his knuckles.

"Leave him alone, Sharpner," Videl warned. She tossed the rest of her lunch away in the trashcan by their table and sighed. "I was just trying to make a new friend, not a new enemy."

"Don't worry Videl. I'm sure he's not really like that. There's probably something bothering him," said Erasa.

"I say that kid is trying to make a fool out of you," said Sharpner.

Videl rolled her eyes at the blond boy's response. "Erasa's probably right. Nobody could be that cold and mean unless there's something bothering him or her. I mean Gohan doesn't seem to like the people here, so that could be a reason."

"Whatever you say, Videl. Don't come running to me when you find out you're wrong," said Sharpner.

Videl and Erasa snorted.

* * *

Sixth period had finally arrived. Gohan stared at the P.E. clothes that they were required to wear. Luckily, he thought ahead and stuffed a pair of sweat pants and a baggy long sleeved shirt. He quickly changed and sat down on the bleachers inside the gym. 

As he waited for the rest of his class to assemble, he noticed a blond boy shoot daggers at him. The boy took a seat next to him and asked, "Are you Gohan?"

Gohan shrugged. "Yeah."

He narrowed his eyes at the demi-saiyan. "Listen man, I don't know what you're up to, but I don't appreciate the way you're treating my friend, Videl."

"What do you mean? I haven't done anything. This is how I treat _everyone_," Gohan answered indifferently. "By the way, you got a smudge on your nose."

Sharpner glared at the boy and rubbed his nose. "Watch yourself," he warned.

Gohan didn't do anything but merely stare at Sharpner.

The blond boy felt the piercing gaze from Gohan and coughed. He turned around in time to see Erasa and Videl walk toward him.

"Hey, Gohan," greeted Videl.

"Hey," he answered back nonchalantly.

Videl nudged Erasa, signaling to her friend that this was Gohan. Erasa nodded her head in awe. "So this is Gohan… He's cute," she whispered to the raven-haired girl.

Videl rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know that. I meant the way he acts. Didn't you notice how he just seems so stiff, cold… and distant?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah…" Erasa sighed. "Such a pity. If he had a better personality I would _so_ totally go for him!"

Videl rolled her eyes again. She was about to say something, but was interrupted by the teacher. The teacher quickly took attendance and then allowed the students to play basketball for the remainder of the period.

Gohan watched as the other students played. He had never really played the game before since he spent most of his time studying and training. Though, he did read a couple books about basketball before. Gohan figured that if he tried, he would be able to get the hang of things quite quickly. At times like this he loved being a fast learner.

Gohan dribbled the ball for a while, trying to get accustomed the feeling of dribbling a ball. Just as he was about to shoot, he heard someone call out to him.

"That's not how you play basketball," Sharpner said with a cocky grin. He skillfully stole the ball from Gohan and did a lay-up. As expected, the ball bounced off the backboard and fell straight through the basket. "Let's see what you got," he said arrogantly.

Gohan kept his face neutral. He grabbed the ball, dribbled it two times and shot. The ball sailed gracefully through the air and straight through the basket for a swish.

Sharpner gaped at the boy. "W-what! And that was the first time you played too!"

Gohan shrugged and shot again. The ball sailed through the air and went straight through the basket a second time. Sharpner quickly grabbed the ball and shot from a random point behind the three-pointer line. The ball bounced off the backboard slightly and then went into the basket. "Hah! Beat that!"

Gohan grabbed the ball and looked around. The half-point looked like an interesting place to shoot. He headed to the spot and aimed the ball.

"There's no way you're going to make that shot! Not many people can make it!"

Gohan ignored what he blond boy said and shot. The ball went into the basket again for a swish. Gohan heard some clapping come from behind him and turned around to see Videl and Erasa applauding him.

"You're pretty good. You should try out for the basketball team," she said with a smile.

Gohan shifted his gaze away from her. "I don't think so. I'm not even that good at it."

At that moment, the gym teacher blew the whistle. "All right folks. Head in and change."

Gohan walked away from the trio and into the locker room where he quickly changed back into his normal clothes. As school let out, he noticed that a lot of people rode home in their cars. He didn't want to stand out like he did the last time he came to school so he de-capsulated a motorcycle to ride home on.

He heard a couple of people let out a low whistle at how his motorcycle looked, but he ignored them. Gohan put on his helmet and started the bike. He arrived home in less than an hour. Gohan preferred flying more, but riding on a motorcycle seemed to make him less noticeable amongst the crowds of people.

* * *

"How was your first day of school?" Bulma asked her adoptive son. 

Gohan shrugged and dumped his backpack on the floor. "It was all right, I guess. Nothing really special happened except for having this girl bothering me the whole day."

"A girl bothering you the whole day? Please explain," the blue-haired woman said, taking a seat beside the demi-saiyan.

"She's apparently in all of my classes and she keeps trying to talk to me. I don't know what's her problem since I really don't feel like talking to anyone. It seems as if she didn't get the hint," he explained.

A smile came to Bulma's lips. "This girl won't leave you alone, you say. Could it be that she likes you?"

Gohan rolled his eyes. "Please don't start with that again. The last three girlfriends I had didn't act that way around me. They kept giggling like crazy and showing me off like some trophy. I seriously don't think so."

Bulma shrugged her shoulders. "It was worth a shot. Besides, she could have a different way of showing affection towards you."

"Bulma, you're overanalyzing things too much." Gohan stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "I'm going to go to my room and do my homework."

"All right, I'll call you down when it's time for dinner."

* * *

"You want to _what_?" shrieked Erasa. 

Videl pulled the receiver away from her ear and winced. Erasa had a very loud voice. When she felt that Erasa had stopped shrieking, Videl began to talk again.

"I want to find out who Gohan really is. I want to find the mystery behind him," repeated the raven-haired girl.

"You must be kidding, Videl. I had no idea that you liked those kind of men."

Videl laughed. "You're my best friend and you don't know that. Something's wrong here. Were you hanging out with Sharpner again?"

"Videl!"

"Just kidding! Anyways, do you think I'll succeed?"

Erasa shrugged. "I don't know Videl, you're only the daughter of Mr. Satan. Of course you'll succeed!"

Videl laughed again. "I wasn't quite sure, but I'm glad to know that someone believes in me."

"Hmm… I'm wondering, Videl. Do you like Gohan?"

The raven-haired girl busted out in laughter. "You must be kidding, Erasa. I want to find out who Gohan is, not find out how to date him."

"You're right. Silly me of asking."

"Perhaps you were only asking that because you want to have a go at him?" teased Videl.

"What! No! Sure he's cute and all, but he's not really my type."

"Wow, I can't believe my ears. This is the first time I've ever heard you admit that a guy is not your type."

"Oh shut up."

Videl laughed at her friend. Teasing Erasa was one of her favorite hobbies. Just then she heard someone calling her name.

"Ack, I gotta go. I'll talk to you after dinner, k?"

"K, go stuff yourself you piggy!"

Videl laughed before hanging up the phone and rushing downstairs to join her father for supper. She took the seat across from Mr. Satan and smiled at the food on her plate.

"Did you have a good day at school, sweet pea?" asked Mr. Satan.

Videl shrugged her shoulders. "It was all right. I met this new guy who's in all my classes."

Mr. Satan stopped eating after hearing the word _guy_. "What about this _guy_?"

"Oh no, not you too! I do not like him! I just want to get to know him better because he seems very interesting! End of discussion!" exclaimed Videl. She turned her attention to dinner and immediately began eating.

"Okay… I didn't really need to know that much information… but okay…"

* * *

I don't think many people are liking the revision so far, so I just might return to **The Wretched Life of Our Hero.** Then again, that story is way less developed and I am not quite proud of that. Oh well, we'll see how _this_ story progresses once I hit chapter four since that is the last chapter I have written or revised up to. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy. 


	4. Lime

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z belongs to Toriyama Akira and will never be mine.

**Discovering Gohan**

_Lime_

When Gohan woke up the next morning, he felt odd. He had a feeling that something was going to happen and he wasn't going to like it. Gohan quickly dressed, grabbed some breakfast, and left for school. When he arrived at the school, he noticed that Videl and a whole mob of students watched as he pulled up. He got off the motorcycle, capsulated it, and walked to class.

As he walked down the halls, he heard numerous girls squeal and giggle over him. He rolled his eyes. That was definitely something he did not need to see or hear this early in the morning.

"They can be very annoying at times," someone behind him stated.

Gohan turned around to find Videl looking up at him. "I guess." He shrugged and continued to walk down the hall.

"So tell me a little something about yourself, Gohan," Videl requested as she jogged to catch up to him.

"What's there to say beside my name and gender?" he answered monotonously.

"Well, let's see… how about your age?"

He stopped in his tracks and eyed her suspiciously. "It shouldn't matter to you."

"Oh come on, Gohan. I'll tell you something about myself if you tell me something about yourself," she persuaded.

Gohan just shook his head. "Listen, I don't want to answer any questions. I know that you're trying to befriend me, but I'm telling you that you're wasting your time. I don't want any friends and I don't need any friends. Go talk to someone who does," he stated coldly. He knew that what he said was a little harsh, but he didn't really care. That was what he felt.

Videl was taken aback by his response and could only gape at him. No one had ever dared talk to her like that after Cell's defeat. She smiled inwardly. Videl liked this boy. Yes, she did. He was capable of standing up for himself and won't let anyone bully him, not even the daughter of Mr. Satan.

She stared right into his onyx eyes and stated plainly, "I _will_ discover who you are, Gohan." Then she walked away as if nothing had ever happened.

Gohan raised an eyebrow at the strange girl and shook his head. She didn't get the hint that he wanted to be left alone. He looked down the hall where she had gone and smiled slightly. She was the first girl who was so stubborn and willful that she reminded him of his mother and Bulma. Gohan released a sigh and walked down the opposite direction down the hall toward his locker.

* * *

When Gohan walked outside to devour his lunch, he was stopped in his tracks by a group of girls. He knew what they wanted, but allowed them to speak anyway.

The girl began by giggling and putting a hand on his arm. Gohan looked at her arm questioningly then at her. "I was wondering if you were free Saturday night?"

Gohan raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "No."

The girl stopped giggling and stopped smiling. "Then perhaps Friday night?"

Gohan shook his head again.

"Then how about when you have free time?" she asked in a squeaky voice.

Gohan looked away from her and answered monotonously, "I don't date girls like you." Then he walked out the doors of the school and toward the outside lunch courts.

The girls were shocked as too what happened. The girl Gohan had rejected burst into tears and ran toward the bathroom. The group of girls followed their leader.

Videl and her friends gaped at what had just happened. Gohan had just turned down the second most popular girl in school in less than a minute! Of course Videl was the most popular since she _was_ Mr. Satan's daughter.

"Did you guys see that?" Sharpner asked, still in disbelief.

Erasa rolled her eyes. "Of course we saw that, Sharpner. We were standing right next to you."

As Erasa and Sharpner began to bicker, Videl looked at the door, which Gohan exited through. "Odd… very odd."

When sixth period came around, Videl, Sharpner, and Erasa confronted Gohan.

Gohan looked up at them, wondering what they wanted even though his face was expressionless. "Is there something you want?"

"Did you realize that you turned down the most popular girl in school? Well, most popular next to Videl of course," asked Sharpner.

"I don't see what's so special about her. She's not that amazing that she should be one of the most popular," stated Gohan. He glanced at Videl and asked, "What's so special about you that you're the most popular girl in the school?"

Erasa and Sharpner gaped at the demi-saiyan. "You mean, you don't _know_?"

Gohan shrugged. "I suppose so. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking."

"She is Satan Videl! The daughter of Mr. Satan!" exclaimed Erasa.

"Mr. Satan's daughter, eh? That's interesting," Gohan commented. He shifted his attention to the teacher who had just walked into the gym. _Who knew that Mr. Satan had such a beautiful daughter? I guess nothing is what it appears to be after all_, thought Gohan.

"Okay class," began Mr. Mile. "Today we're going to be running three miles." Moans and groans erupted from the crowd of students. "Stop complaining you big babies. The people on the track team run ten. Follow me to the track field."

Within a few minutes the group of students stepped foot onto the field and were forced to begin running. Gohan was able to run the whole three miles effortlessly and finished first, followed closely by Videl. Meanwhile, the rest of the class struggled to keep up.

Videl wiped the sweat off her forehead and slumped down to sit on the ground. She took deep shallow breaths while Gohan just sat down. He didn't seem as fazed as she was. In fact, it from the way he looked, it was as if he didn't run at all! Videl was very confused, but curious at the same time as to how that was possible.

For the next few weeks, Videl continued to observe Gohan. She noticed how he never seemed to show any emotion no matter what the situation. He didn't really talk to anyone, aside from the teachers and her asking him questions. He always sat outside during lunch and still did not make any friends. Girls continued to ask him out on dates, but he turned down everyone one of them. Many of the boys in school hated Gohan for getting perfect grades and all the girls' attention. Gohan never tried out for any team even though he should. One day she even followed him home and she discovered that he lived at Capsule Corp. Gohan found out when he arrived home and demanded that she never follow him anywhere ever again. Sometimes on the way to school or home, she noticed that Gohan would help out the police by capturing criminals. He was able to capture and defeat them quicker than her! The strange thing was, he shot out beams of light out of his hands like the warriors from the Cell Games. At first she thought that Gohan could've been that little boy, but then she shoved the thought out of her head. There was no way that could've been possible because Gohan didn't have the gold hair or turquoise eyes.

Today the teacher made a pretty interesting announcement to the class that caught Videl's attention right away.

"Since this class is English AP, I decided to make things a little interesting. Now, I know that many of you are not acquainted with each other in this class. Therefore, I decided to have a little get-to-know your partner assignment. I want all of these questions on the board answered in English, not Japanese," said Ms. Muffin.

A few groans came from the class.

Ms. Muffin could only smile at her students' reactions. "I expect to have the report on my desk by Monday. Oh yes, _I_ will be assigning your partners."

A few of the students began to pound his or her head against the desk.

"Don't kill yourself just yet. If you're dead how are you going to be able to turn in your assignment?" Ms. Muffin said with a smile that only made students want to run out of the room.

"The pairs are as follows: Georgina and Wilson, Alexander and Katie, Gohan and Videl…."

When Gohan heard his name being called, he could only raise an eyebrow in confusion. He was to be paired up with Videl? That was quite interesting since she was the exact person he was trying to avoid.

Videl tried to hide a smirk, but failed miserably. "How are you, partner?"

"Fine, _partner_," Gohan said, emphasizing on the last word.

Videl cringed at his tone of voice, but tried not to show it. She was about to open her mouth to speak when a girl walked into the room.

Ms. Muffin raised an eyebrow at the girl. It was odd to have a new student this late in the year already. Transfers should've been made weeks ago. "Yes, may I help you?

The girl nodded her head and stepped up to the teacher. "Hi, I'm Lime. I just transferred here."

Ms. Muffin eyed the form Lime was holding, took it from the girl, and looked over the contents. "Hmm… I see that you have a very good background from your old school." Ms. Muffin looked up and scanned the room. She frowned when she realized that her class had an odd number of people because of Lime's arrival.

"Well, I don't have a partner for you Lime… I hope you won't mind if I pair you up with one of the other pairs."

Lime shook her head. "Oh, not at all, Ms. Muffin."

Ms. Muffin smiled and scanned over her list of students. "My best students are Videl and Gohan…" She turned to Lime and asked, "I hope you wouldn't being paired up with Videl and Gohan. They're the best in this class and would help you get around easier."

Lime smiled. "That's a good plan."

Ms. Muffin smiled back and called out to her best two students. In a few seconds, Gohan and Videl were standing right in front of her. "Gohan, Videl, I want to introduce you to Lime. She will be part of your group project. Now, I know that this will be a little more work on you, but I know that you two can handle it. I want a report on each group member. Is that clear?"

The two teens nodded.

"Good, now get busy."

Lime turned to Gohan and stuck out her hand. "Long time no see, Gohan. How have you been all these years?"

"Fine. I see that you've grown a lot since the last time I saw you. Anything new happen with you?" he answered monotonously.

_What? They know each other?_ Videl thought to herself.

"No, nothing really except for me and my grandfather moving to Satan City," she replied.

"I see… welcome to Satan City, I guess," Gohan replied with the same tone.

Videl noticed that Lime didn't flinch or feel uncomfortable while talking to Gohan. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Who was this girl and how did she know someone like Gohan?

"Would you like to come over to my house for dinner tonight? Grandpa is going to make his specialty," asked Lime.

Gohan shook his head. "I can't. I owe Vegeta a sparring session. He's been really upset since I started attending school."

Lime laughed. "It looks like he'll never change."

"Actually, he has changed in a way," said Gohan.

For the rest of the conversation, Videl just sat back and read her novel. She had no idea what was going on and she was extremely envious for Lime being friends with Gohan. Videl narrowed her eyes. This only fueled her desire to find out the mystery behind Gohan even more.

"Okay, class dismissed," Ms. Muffin, said in time for the bell to ring, signifying the end of the period.

Videl frowned as she walked out of first period and toward her next class. Interviewing people wasn't one of her favorite things to do since she was on the receiving side of interviews most of the time. That was expected since she was the daughter of the Great Mr. Satan. She sighed and looked over to her right where Gohan was walking next to Lime. Videl just didn't understand how Gohan could be so calm and reserved all the time. It was as if he didn't have any emotions at all.


	5. Mysteries

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z belongs to Toriyama Akira and will never be mine.

**Discovering Gohan**

_Mysteries_

Videl twirled the pen around in her hands for what seemed like forever until she finally dropped the writing instrument onto her messy desk. She growled in frustration and slammed her hand onto her notebook, ripping out the page of scribbles. "I hate this assignment," grumbled Videl.

"Is there something wrong, Miss?" asked one of the maids that just happened to walk by the room.

Videl shook her head. "No, Madison. I'm just a little frustrated with a school assignment, that's all."

The maid didn't seem to be convinced with Videl's response, but left things at that. Besides, who was she to talk against her employer's daughter? The maid nodded her head and continued to walk down the hall to complete her original task.

Videl checked to see that there was no one around and sighed in relief. She wasn't really in the mood to have people looking over her shoulder or snooping around in her business. She grabbed a notebook, a few pens, and a messenger bag before leaving her room. Videl checked her watch. Gohan, Lime, and she were supposed to meet in half an hour.

Flying over the city was one of her favorite activities. She had always loved flying ever since she was little. Videl felt so free and as if nothing could stop her. The view of the city was also a breathtaking sight that only added to her interest. As she flew around, she noticed that there were a lot of vehicles and people crammed together in one area. She knew that it wasn't traffic, so that could only mean one thing; a bank robbery.

Videl furrowed her eyebrows and unbuckled her seatbelt. She had time to spare, so helping out wasn't wasting any time. Right before she opened the jet's door, her watch beeped. Videl guessed that it was the Sergeant trying to contact her. She pressed the button on her watch and watched as the Sergeant's face immediately appeared in the small screen which had previously displayed the time.

"Videl-" began the Sergeant.

"I'm on my way, sir," responded Videl before the Sergeant could say anymore. Videl cut off the link and jumped out of her jet which was now put under auto-pilot. Luckily, she wasn't that far up from the ground, so Videl landed with no difficulty and managed to arrive at the bank within a few short minutes. She noticed the Sergeant hiding behind his car, all the while attempting to retaliate, but failing terribly.

"Videl! Thank goodness you're here!" exclaimed the Sergeant happily.

"Yeah, well I saw what was happening from my jet and came down to help," replied the raven-haired girl.

The Sergeant sighed in relief. "I don't know what we would've done without you."

_Hide behind the corner of a donut shop?_ thought Videl. She retrained herself from saying that aloud and made to jump in when she heard a loud crash. Videl peered over the top of the police car to see a large truck become a crushed ball. Videl could only gape at the spectacular sight. Even her father couldn't do that without hitting the truck more than once.

When the truck was shoved away, she was quite shocked to Gohan standing calmly where the truck should have been. He turned to look at her, she felt her blood run cold. His eyes were devoid of any emotion and appeared to be an empty shell. As soon as her senses returned, Videl realized that Lime was standing beside Gohan. Lime seemed to be watching the scene as if it events like this happened everyday, which was not the case for Videl.

"Stop hiding behind the police car. We have a project to finish, remember, Videl?" said Gohan monotonously.

Videl couldn't help but shiver hearing him speak. She didn't hear people speak like Gohan very often, so, she was not quite used to his monotonous way of speaking. Videl nodded her head and walked up to the other two.

"H-how did you do that?" wondered Videl.

"It will be explained later," answered Lime, earning a glare from Videl. Videl's question was directed to Gohan, not Lime.

The Sergeant came up behind Videl and immediately grabbed Gohan's hand, shaking the teenager's hand vigorously. "Thank you so much for helping. Thank you, thank you!"

Gohan merely stared at the man and pulled his hand out of the Sergeant's grasp. "I was not helping you. The truck was in my way and I was merely removing an obstacle," said Gohan. The teen then turned away from the Sergeant and continued to walk down the street as if nothing had ever happened.

Lime bowed before leaving as well, leaving both Videl and the Sergeant in confusion.

"What a strange kid…" murmured the Sergeant.

After a brief pause, Videl nodded in agreement. "Yeah… Oh! I've got to go! Call me if there's any trouble, Sergeant!"

The Sergeant nodded. "Of course; good luck on your project, Videl. I'll just… arrest those robbers over here… who are apparently unconscious…"

"I see that you decided to join us after all, Videl," said Gohan dryly.

It took almost all of her willpower not to lash out at the boy. She opted to glare at him instead. Meanwhile, Lime stayed incredibly quiet during their little trip around the city. Where were they heading? The destination would be revealed really soon.

"Lime," started Videl, feeling uncomfortable in this girl's presence, "do you know where we're doing our project? The only thing I've been told was to meet up at Orange Star Park."

"We will be going to Gohan's house," replied Lime calmly.

"Gohan's house?" wondered Videl.

The demi-saiyan shot a glare at the raven-haired girl. "Is there a problem with going to my house?" demanded Gohan a little heatedly.

"No," answered Videl, refusing to show any fear toward such a rude and arrogant person.

"Good. We will be there in ten minutes if we drive by car," said Gohan.

"Then why are we walking?" questioned Videl.

"Apparently Mr. Grouchy here is hungry and wants to grab a bite to eat. Blame it on his Sai-" began Lime.

"Shut it, Lime," growled Gohan, grabbing onto the girl's wrist. He was obviously not pleased with the fact that Lime almost blurted out information that he did not want exposed to just anyone. Gohan hardly even noticed that he was gripping Lime's wrist or that he was hurting her for the matter.

"Gohan…" said Lime softly and painfully. Lime was writhing in pain, but Gohan made no indication of releasing his grip on her. Videl noticed how his eyes looked glazed for some reason instead of his usual cold eyes. Lime's cries of pain were getting louder and louder.

"Let go of her!" yelled Videl, punching him in the face when he made no move to let go. Videl was quite puzzled as to why Gohan suddenly reacted like that. She had known him for a few weeks now and he had never acted like this before.

Her attempt was a success because the minute Videl punched Gohan he released his hold on Lime and looked away. Though her punch caused him no damage, it was enough to wake him out of his stupor. Videl briefly wondered what was with the weird look in his eyes, but then directed her attention to Lime, who was apparently the victim and not Gohan. Although she was not quite fond of the girl, she felt that she should at least worry about Lime's injury.

"How's your wrist?" wondered Videl.

Lime grimaced when she tried to move the joint. "I think it's broken," she said sadly.

Gohan didn't say anything for quite a while before he heaved a sigh and turned back to the two girls. His eyes had returned to their usual state, though Videl could see a bit of sorrow in his eyes. "Sorry, Lime. My mother will treat back at my house," said Gohan softly, which startled Videl. She had never heard any real emotion or any difference in his tone of voice until now.

"Wait a minute," said Videl, realizing something, "we can't just get her treated at your house. She needs professional help. We need to bring her to a doctor!"

Gohan's eyes narrowed and his voice turned steely. "My mother _is_ a professional. She's had more experience than you can imagine."

Videl was taken back by what he had said. She felt like a fool for saying such a thing when she had no idea of Gohan's mother's background. Videl turned away, unwilling to apologize for her outburst.

Gohan completely ignored Videl and took hold of Lime's uninjured arm. "Come on, we'll fly there. It'll be a lot faster."

Videl was just about to offer them a ride in her jet, but was quite surprised that they had disappeared. Where did they go? She wondered how they were able to disappear so quickly and without a trace. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she hopped into her jet and flew off toward Capsule Corp.

On the way there, she wondered why so many things had to be so strange, not to mention complicated today. Sighing, she arrived at the front of the large company and was surprised to see Gohan and Lime waiting for her. Lime as it seemed, was perfectly fine and was able to move her wrist again.

"W-what? Where? How?" murmured Videl in confusion.

"It is not your place to know," answered Gohan. He ushered her into the gigantic building and said, "A warning, do not do anything to upset me or any of my family members."

"Why?" asked Videl softly.

Gohan paused and looked at her with those cold eyes that sent shivers down her spine. "The consequences will be fatal," replied Gohan simply before turning away from her.

Videl couldn't help but wonder what he had meant. How could anyone match the Satans in strength? Then again, Videl knew that Gohan was no ordinary boy. No, he had a deep secret that she was determined to find out, that was, if she weren't killed first.

"I suggest for you to heed his warning," said Lime seriously. Then she too followed after Gohan down the corridors of Capsule Corp.

The raven-haired girl couldn't help but wonder about the mysteries behind Gohan, Lime, and their pasts.

"Let's get this over with," grumbled Gohan, sitting down in one of the chairs in the large library that was located in the center of Capsule Corp.

Videl couldn't help but gawk at the size of the room, not to mention the building itself. It was a few times larger than her own house and it seemed as if the resources in this library were endless. Books were stacked on every shelf. Videl doubted that there was a book out of place, let alone room for more books.

"Stop gawking and let's finish the project," said Gohan roughly.

Videl pulled herself out of her stupor and sat down across from Gohan. Videl couldn't help but notice that Gohan began scribbling down information at a rapid rate on a notepad he took from a drawer in the table. Then she noticed that Lime had brought out her own notebook and had done the same.

"We're done with each other's background," said Lime. "Now it's time that we get information about you."

Again, Videl found herself gawking at the two. "You must know each other very well to have finished the assignment that fast."

"You have no idea," Videl heard Gohan grumble under his breath.

"Okay, we'll begin with the basics. What's your name, age, date of birth, and where did you grow up?" asked Lime.

"Videl Satan, Seventeen…" Videl finished answering all the questions that were asked of her. She sighed and looked down at her own notebook; it was blank, while her classmate's notebooks were filled with writings.

"Satan," laughed Gohan. "I still can't believe that such a bumbling fool could have a daughter who actually has a brain."

Videl shot the boy a glare. Sure, she could stand his rude comments, but no one could insult her family, ever. "Who are you to insult my father? My father saved the world from Cell! You should be glad that he even saved the world or else you wouldn't even be here right now!"

Gohan had immediately shot out of his chair and slammed his hands on either side of the table, shooting Videl a glare.

"What? Got nothing to say because you know it's true?" pressed Videl. At first she had found the boy rather attractive because of his mysterious nature, but now, she found him a nuisance and wondered why she was even attracted to him in the first place.

His eyes narrowed dangerously and she swore she felt the table beginning to break down. They stayed glaring at each for the longest time. Neither teen dared to move nor blink, causing an uncomfortable silence and very thick tension to appear in the room. Lime knew that she couldn't do anything, so she did the only thing she could do, hope for no one to get hurt.

After what seemed an eternity, Gohan broke the silence. "You don't understand anything," said Gohan bitterly. Then he grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and stormed out of the room, leaving Videl fuming in anger.

After Gohan had left the room, Videl turned to Lime. "Can you believe the nerve of that guy? He acts as if he's the center of the universe!"

Instead of receiving the desired response, Videl was dumbfounded to find that Lime was looking at her sympathetically. "He's right. You don't understand anything at all."

"W-what are you talking about?" demanded Videl bewilderedly.

Lime stood up and faced Videl. "Gohan told me about you. He told me how you're pushy and very pesky. I doubted his words when I first met you, but now, I come to believe that what he said is true."

Videl couldn't help but feel flabbergasted at Lime's confession.

"You don't consider other people's feelings at all. You're selfish and you only care about yourself. No wonder he can't put up with you," said Lime a little louder than she should have.

It took a while for Lime's words to sink in, but once they did, Videl couldn't say anything. They hurt, a lot. She admitted that she was acting selfish, arrogant, and conceited and she deserved the cold treatments they were currently giving her. She noticed that Lime was still in the room, though visibly fuming in anger.

"I'm sorry," said Videl softly, startling Lime. "I shouldn't have acted that way. I guess I just lost my temper." Videl plopped down on the chair she had pushed away earlier and looked up at Lime. "I guess it's because I haven't been treated normally for over six years."

Lime didn't move from her current spot, but listened intently to what Videl had to say.

"At one time I was a normal kid. I had a mother, a father, a decent sized house, a nice life. But now… it's totally different." Videl shifted her gaze down to her hands which were resting on her lap. "My mother died from cancer when I was seven. Back then my father treated and loved me as if his world would collapse if he lost me and I bet that it would, if anything happened to me. Then he started getting famous for his weight training and he went to fight Cell. Everyone claimed that he defeated Cell, but for some reason, I just couldn't accept that fact." She paused.

"There was a nagging feeling inside of me that suspected that those Gold Fighters were the one to have destroyed Cell, but being the foolish girl I was, I believed everything my father told me. I was so stupid and naive. It was then that my father started getting rich and famous for his glory. He had completely changed." Videl could feel the tears pricking the side of her eyes, but tried her best to suppress them.

"He began getting drunk most of the time and brought home many women that flaunted their body to him just because they wanted money." By now she could feel the tears running down her face, but she couldn't do anything to stop them from falling. "He started ignoring me and just gave me money to spend. No one cared who I was. I was just Mr. Satan's daughter. No one respected me for who I was anymore. They were always offering me the best of everything and treating me like royalty. Heck, the only reason why I even volunteered to help the police was to feel worthy of something! Besides, those buffoons couldn't arrest a crook even if the guy was tied up, gagged, and less than a foot away," said Videl wiping away her tears. "S-sorry… I didn't mean to act that way…," repeated Videl.

Lime, who was at first just listening, understood Videl a better thanks to her little outburst and could sympathize with the girl. She sighed and said, "Listen, don't get all stressed out. I guess you've had a pretty hard life too. I'm sorry; I didn't know that being the daughter of one of the most famous celebrities was that hard either."

Videl managed to smile slightly. "If you could accept my apology, then I guess I could accept yours."

Lime returned the smile and said, "It's a deal then." Lime brought up her notebook and began scribbling once again, confusing Videl. "Videl Satan grew up in Orange Star City and lives with her father. Her favorite activity is helping the police when she has time."

Videl was quite surprised that Lime didn't write anything else down. "But why did you write that down? Why didn't you include the selfish, snobby, arrogant, conceited part?"

The smile never left Lime's face. "I knew that you weren't that kind of person. I just wanted to confirm your personality and guess what? I'm right." She winked. "I'll tell you a secret, Videl. I'm a pretty good judge of character."

At that, Videl truly smiled. It was her first real smile in years and she was amazed at how good it felt.

* * *

Well, I know that it's been quite a while since I have last written an update. I apologize for the delay, but let's just call it writer's block. Aside from that, I highly doubt that anyone is reading this story anymore. I know that my writing and my plot is mediocre and very inferior to a lot of people's so I can't blame people for not reading. Anyhow, if anyone _is_ reading, I would really appreciate some criticism. 


	6. Detestation

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation. **  
**

**Discovering Gohan**

_Detestation_

Gohan couldn't tear his eyes away from the clothes strewn across his bed. They just any regular ole clothing, but the exact outfit he had worn the day of his parent's funeral. Seeing the apparel hurt Gohan so much because it reminded him of the promise he had made that day. His eyes narrowed at the memories his promise had brought up. Gohan gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. Why was his life so hard? Why must he suffer? Why did it have to be him that suffered? Gohan wanted to pummel something so badly, but restrained himself. He didn't want to attract any attention when he was in this state; this state of grieving.

After six years he still couldn't let them go. As he stared as his hands, he couldn't help but want to kill himself. He hated his blood. It was his blood and his background that had caused him so much trouble. Sure it was fun being a Saiyan sometimes, but when you think about it, a lot of things were to your disadvantage. A Saiyan couldn't blend in with the crowd. Something about them would definitely attract attention, whether it was their gravity defying hair, abnormal appetite, or inhuman strength. It was when he learned that he was a Saiyan that things began to change. Nothing was ever the same. His happy life and family were torn apart.

He was fighting before he attended school, well, normal school age since he was home-schooled. He was forced to survive on his own for a whole year, fight an alien monster many times stronger than he, and destroy a monster that nearly killed him and everyone on the face of the Earth. When he went to school, it was obvious that there was something different about him. People didn't need to find out, they just knew right away. This guy's weird, they would say. Some liked him, others detested him. No, his life definitely wasn't one filled with happy memories or joyous occasions. It was one filled with anguish, loneliness, and sorrow.

What was the reason? It was because he was Saiyan. Goku had suffered as well, enemies and super villains chasing after him because he was Kakarotto. Gohan scoffed. If this whole Saiyan business didn't happen, then none of this would've happened. He wouldn't have been born and he wouldn't have to suffer. If he had a choice, he would give up his Saiyan blood in a heartbeat.

Gohan grabbed the clothes off his bed, all the while suppressing all the emotions he felt. He couldn't break down. He wouldn't. He simply wouldn't allow it. Gohan threw the clothes into the corner of his room and walked out.

Earlier today when he had crushed Lime's wrist, it wasn't only because he didn't want Videl to know of his heritage, it was because he didn't want to hear that word. He loathed that word more than anything.

The Dragon balls, he thought. If he could get his hands on them he could not only change himself, but the course of time. No Saiyans, no Freeza, no Cell, and definitely no more villains. Yes, he thought. He would get the Dragon balls and have the dragon remedy his plight.

As Gohan strolled down the hall, he noticed that Lime was waiting outside of the library. He briefly wondered what she was doing there, but then remembered about the project. _Great, that girl is probably still here as well_, he thought bitterly to himself. But before he could even utter a word, Lime had spoken.

"In case you're wondering, she's not here," said Lime boldly.

Gohan stopped in his tracks, but didn't say anything.

"She left because she didn't want to bother you," said Lime, this time with an edge to her voice. "Videl realized how rude and disturbed you were, so she left."

"That's nice to know," said Gohan. He wasn't in the mood to deal with this sort of stuff. No, he wanted to find the dragon balls as soon as possible. He wanted things to be different. He didn't want to live this role anymore. He wanted his life back. And most importantly, he wanted his family. Sure he had Goten, but that did nothing to fill the emptiness he had in his heart.

"Is that all you have to say?" growled Lime.

Gohan turned away from her. He didn't to relive his. No. He had suffered enough the first time. "Yes," said he, and then walked away.

"Son Gohan! Don't you dare walk away from me like that!" yelled Lime.

Gohan halted, but did not turn around. He couldn't. He wouldn't. The truth was behind him and he didn't ever want to go back to it. The truth just hurt too much.

"I know what this is about," began Lime. "This whole hating your Saiyan background thing isn't it?" She walked in front of him and stared at him straight in the face even though he tried looking the other direction. "You can't avoid it, Gohan. You are who you are. There's nothing you can do about it!"

"Yes there is!" growled Gohan, now looking directly at Lime. "I'm sick of this! I'm always putting my life at risk and I could barely even remember a time that I wasn't needed for a battle. I was always called upon. I had to fight! I had to defend the Earth. I grow up at the age of eleven! I had no one to depend on but myself! My father died, my mother died, my grandfather died! I have no one left besides my brother! He probably doesn't even see me as his brother! I'm just this guy who lives in the same house as him and has the same blood as him! Bulma and Vegeta don't even see me for me either! I'm just Goku and Chichi's kid, not Gohan, Goku and Chichi's kid! You have no idea who much I have suffered. You think that just because I've known you for a few years that you know everything about me? You know nothing about me!" he yelled all in one breath.

Lime was taken aback. She definitely wasn't expecting such a large outburst. Lime could practically see his ki.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go out and get some fresh air," said Gohan coldly. He pushed her away and began to walk down the hall.

"This was why we didn't work out," whispered Lime.

Gohan stopped again. Why must she make this so hard on him? Why? Gohan slowly turned around to face her. His eyes were full of pain and regret. "This was why we didn't work out?" repeated Gohan questionably.

Lime nodded slowly. "Yes."

Gohan once again couldn't control his emotions. He knew that what she was saying was true. When they dated last year, he realized that their relationship wouldn't last. He didn't know why, until now. His hatred for his Saiyan heritage was just beginning and he was growing more unreasonable than ever. She couldn't stand to be around him.

"You're striving for a dream that would never come true," stated Lime.

"Shut up," said Gohan in a low voice.

"You know I'm right. You're just wasting your time and effort. Do more with your life than simply despise the very being that you are!" said Lime.

"Shut up," said Gohan again. "Just shut up… I don't want to hear it…" Surprisingly his request was not in a form of a shout, but as a whisper.

Lime was about to continue, but then stopped. She knew that her message had gotten through.

"Gohan, you shouldn't change yourself. You're you and if you do change yourself, you won't be you anymore," said Lime softly. "Just listen to me, Gohan. I'm not trying to destroy your life. I'm just trying to help you." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "That promise you made to protect the Earth… don't feel obliged to do it just because you're a Saiyan and the strongest one left, this is your father's home, or because you promised to. You should protect the Earth out of your own freewill. If anything should happen, let someone else take care of it, though I won't recommend that."

Gohan sighed. "I suppose you're right." He turned his head to gaze out of the window and said, "I guess that my hatred just got the better of me. I guess I'll wait. If things get worse, then I'll take some action."

Lime smiled, glad to have finally gotten her message through to her friend. "Look, I better get going. Grandpa's going to start worrying if I don't get home soon."

* * *

That night Gohan did not feel like training with Vegeta. Instead, he went into the kitchen and sat down at the table to do homework. 

"You're doing homework? I thought that you would've finished it yesterday," commented Bulma.

Gohan looked up from the book and said, "I'm not doing homework. I'm just reading ahead."

"I see," said Bulma, leaning over Gohan's shoulder.

Gohan couldn't help but wonder what Bulma wanted, so he turned to her and asked through gritted teeth, "Yes?"

"Why aren't you training with Vegeta today," asked Bulma boldly.

"I don't feel like training," replied Gohan simply.

"Why's that?"

Gohan chose to simply ignore her question. For some reason, she was being very irritating.

"I heard your argument today," stated Bulma out of nowhere.

At this, Gohan turned around to face her. What did she hear in the argument? "You heard?" asked Gohan in a low, dangerous voice.

"You know, Gohan, I agree with Lime," said Bulma taking a seat across from the teen. Shortly after, a robot came back and placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of Gohan.

"So you know, huh?" stated Gohan plainly.

Bulma nodded slowly. "Yes, but I don't blame you for feeling that way. You've had a pretty hard life, but I just want you to know that we'll always support you and have your back." She grinned. "And you're not just Goku and Chichi's son. It wouldn't make sense calling you Goku and Chichi's son every time I saw you. You're Son Gohan, now remember that."

"Actually, it's Briefs Gohan. You adopted Goten and I remember?" said Gohan with a small grin.

"Eh… you know where I'm getting at. But I want you to know that you are not allowed to do anything stupid, such as what you were trying to do today, or else you won't have food for a year!"

"W-What! You _must_ be joking, Bulma!" yelled Gohan.

"Actually, it's mom now. Don't you remember that I adopted Goten and you?" said Bulma with a grin.

"Ahh…. Whatever. Bulma, mom, old hag… they're all the same person, you."

Bulma shot Gohan a mock glare and said, "No dinner for you tonight."

Gohan nodded, "Yeah, yeah." He closed his textbook and stood up from his chair. "I'm going to my room now."

* * *

Gohan stared up at the big empty ceiling of his bedroom and sighed. Today's events played in his head repeatedly and just wouldn't go away. Somehow Lime's words were stuck in his head. Gohan knew that she was right, but he didn't want to admit it. 

He sighed. Lime and he would never work out. She was his first love and most probably his only love. He blew his chance. Gohan knew that there was no way that they were going to get back together. She had moved on and even had a boyfriend that she promised to introduce him to next week.

Life just got a lot harder, not to mention more painful. But he wouldn't change anything yet. No, not until change was needed. Gohan rolled over on his side and stared off into space. He remembered that Videl had come today and wasn't thrilled with the way she acted. Then again, he was rude to her, so her reaction was inevitable. Gohan would apologize to her tomorrow. He may hate his life, but that didn't mean that he had to be a bastard.

But right now, he would sleep; hopefully a long dreamless sleep like those he used to have as a kid.

* * *

Yes, I know that this chapter sucks. You do not need to tell me. I realized that a few people got the wrong idea about Gohan crushing Lime's wrist in the last chapter. Let me say this, Gohan was not only angry at Lime for almost blurting out his secret, he was angry at her for mentioning the word he loathed. 

Well, please read and review. Hopefully the next chapter will come out soon. Until then, see ya! And thanks again to the reviews! There were more reviews than I had expected.


	7. Helping a Friend

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z belongs to Toriyama Akira and will never be mine.

**Discovering Gohan**

_Helping a Friend_

He couldn't help but notice how bright the stars were that night and had stayed out gazing at the stars in his balcony for the past few hours. Gazing at the stars had always been a hobby of his that he had shared with his father, but now that his father was no longer there for him, he hardly ever went stargazing. However, the stars had been exceptionally bright tonight which had drawn the demi-saiyan in.

He had once been told that the stars were the dead that looked over him. That was preposterous since he knew that stars were merely nothing more than burning balls of gas, but he held onto that silly theory. He wished that it were true, so that he knew where his parents were even though he knew that they were watching over them in the other dimension. Gohan released a long sigh and tucked his hands behind his head as he lay on the bench on the balcony. Had it really been that long? _Five years_, he thought to himself. They've been gone for five years, yet he still felt the pain of their deaths as if it were yesterday.

"Mom, dad," Gohan found himself whispering. "I know you're out there watching over me, so I presume that you know of what I tried to do yesterday. Sometimes being a saiyan is so hard; then again, my whole life's been hard." Gohan gritted his teeth. "If only I had listened to you back then, dad, you'd still be here with us right now. I really miss you and it's a pity that Goten never had to chance to know both his parents."

"Sometimes I wonder how much would change if I had to chance to redo everything and make everything right again." Gohan scoffed. "A lot of things I bet. The world would be safe, you'd have the son you'd always dreamt of having, and a great normal, peaceful life." He continued to gaze up forlornly at the stars. "Yesterday I had almost gathered the dragon balls and wished that Saiyans had never existed. Pretty lame, huh?" He smiled sadly. "Without Saiyans, there'd be no danger to the Earth or anything. We wouldn't have had a care in the world and wouldn't have had to live our lives the way we did. God, how I wish you're still here with us."

"I'm pathetic, huh? I'm wishing and hoping for something that would never happen. Lime slapped some sense into me yesterday. Well, not literally, but her words hurt me a lot. It just reminded me of how weak I really am even though I'm the strongest fighter on Earth. I'm not as grown up as I thought I was. I guess I'm still that little boy that needed protection." Gohan sighed. "I can't stand this life that I lead anymore. Anymore of this suffering and I would go nuts. I'm tempted to carry out with my plan to eliminate Saiyans from history—we'd be normal humans. I know I'm really selfish. You can't blame me though. After having my childhood taken away so suddenly and at such a young age to defend the Earth against the forces of evil, what do you expect? I'd at least want a little something."

Gohan smiled slightly when he saw one of the stars glow a little brighter than all the rest. "Don't worry, mom. You've brought me up to be better than that." He got up off the bench and grasped the necklace around his neck. He yanked the necklace off and crushed it in the palm of his hand. That necklace was the only restraint to power he hid. He laughed at his own stupidity. What if he accidentally lost control of himself? He wouldn't care. If they discover him, he wouldn't care. As far as he was concerned, he didn't care about anything anymore. He just wished for the end of his pathetic little life, but he couldn't bring himself to do suicide. He just couldn't, no matter how many times he had tried.

He laughed at himself. He doubt that Goten even considered him as an older brother with the way he avoided and neglected him. He wouldn't be surprised if the kid denied having any living blood relative. Gohan raked a hand through his dark messy hair and sighed as he leaned over the edge of the railing. It was late and he had school tomorrow, he had better go to sleep.

Trying to sleep had done no good to him since his dark thoughts plagued his mind. He had yet to apologize to Videl like he promised he would. He had never broken a promise in his life and he didn't plan on starting now. He was a man of his word. He'd apologize later.

* * *

She was quite surprised when he showed up in class without his report. Both she and Lime knew that he had the necessary data and had probably done the report, yet he chose not to. Videl wondered what was with that boy's weird behavior. She had been intrigued by him the first time they had met and he had ceased to amaze her. 

"You don't have it?" screeched the Ms. Muffin.

"Yes," said Gohan calmly for the fourth time.

"Am I hearing things or is my top student _actually_ telling me that he doesn't have his report?" wondered Ms. Muffin once again.

"I do not have my report," stated Gohan again.

Ms. Muffin looked as if she was going to have a seizure and sunk into her chair, a hand clasped over her heart. "I cannot believe this…" she murmured repeatedly to herself.

Gohan couldn't help but roll his eyes at the teacher's behavior. It wasn't the end of the world. Truth be told, he had the report in his bag, but he just didn't feel like turning it in. After that emotionally draining day, he hadn't had the energy to really do anything.

This didn't go unnoticed by Lime though. The moment she had to chance to talk to Gohan, which was lunch time, she had asked him what was wrong.

As usual, he brushed her off and turned away from her, drowning out her words and her pleas to tell her what was wrong. His behavior should've been obvious to her because of the conversation they had the other day. Eventually she gave up trying to ask him and began talking about other topics. No matter what she said, nothing went through to him, except for one statement.

"It turns out that Robby is coming a bit earlier than expected. Isn't that awesome? He's going to be in town tomorrow so we can meet him after school," said Lime.

At that moment, Gohan felt his heart shattering to a million pieces. He grimaced at her words, but tried to hide his emotions like he normally did. There was no point in showing her how much it hurt to know that she had moved on. He wouldn't show her his weak side anymore. He had shown her too much of that.

Gohan ground his teeth and clenched his fists together so hard that he could feel the strain in his jaw and in his hands. His knuckles were turning white from the sheer force of his clenching. Luckily, that went unnoticed by Lime. No matter how hard he tried to control himself, he couldn't keep his voice level when he said, "That's great to hear."

Although Gohan's behavior went unnoticed by Lime, Videl noticed it. She understood his pain better now that Lime had cleared some things up for her. She could also hear the strain and the pain held deep within his voice. She pitied him. _Gohan…_ she thought.

"Where can we meet him?" forced out Gohan. It took all his willpower to leave out the malice he wanted so desperately to show.

Lime was oblivious to how Gohan had to force some of the words out or how much he was hurting from thoughts of her boyfriend visiting her. For the past few minutes, Lime had begun talking about Robby, which only caused more pain and grief to Gohan. This was the thing with Lime, when she got started talking about her boyfriend, she would end up in her own little fantasy world and forget everything around her.

As Lime was going to continue, Videl placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder and pulled him away before he could crush the table that he was reaching out for. Reluctantly, he stepped away with her without saying a word or jerking away. They walked to the nearest tree where Gohan leaned against and sighed, running a hand down his face.

"Care to talk about it?" offered Videl.

Gohan grunted. "You wouldn't understand," he answered wearily and sadly.

"Oh yeah? Try me," said Videl, crossing her arms across her chest.

He glanced at her with weary and wary eyes full of doubt before turning away from her and sliding down toward the ground. "It's complicated," he stated heavily.

"I've got time and I'm willing to listen," she stated plainly.

Wait, why was she so willing to listen to his woes when all he had ever done was be rude to her and insult her? He didn't even apologize to her like he said he would either. "Why are you so willing to help me?"

She seemed a bit taken back by his question and hesitated to respond. What was she supposed to say? She pitied him? But then that would make him even angrier at her. In the end she settled for, "Because you're my friend."

"Your friend?" repeated Gohan bewilderedly.

Videl bit the inside of her cheek and nodded slowly. Sure, she _could_ consider him as a friend if he didn't act like such a bastard. "Yes."

Gohan scoffed. "Then you have a bad choice in friends."

She sent him a glare and plopped down on the grass right in front of him. "Just tell me. I know that it has something to do with your history with Lime."

The young demi-saiyan turned away from the raven-haired girl and sighed. "You sure are stubborn."

Videl smirked. "It's one of my special qualities."

_She kind of reminds me of Bulma and… mom…_, thought Gohan sadly. "We used to date," he began.

"I gathered that much from how you look at her," said Videl.

"I'm that obvious, huh?" said Gohan, his eyes closed.

"Unfortunately," replied Videl.

"We dated for two years. I really loved her, but then… we broke up," said the demi-saiyan, his eyes open and full of pain at the memory.

She could practically feel the love from Gohan radiating off of him whenever they were around Lime. Right now she really pitied him, but also couldn't help but wonder the reason for the break up. "Why?"

His eyes were downcast and his words were full of regret, "I became too caught up with something else and we… drifted apart. She said that we didn't work out because I didn't give her enough attention and it was true. I didn't. I was a bastard…" He gritted his teeth and inhaled. He really wished that he could go back in time and change the past, but he knew that it was impossible. There was nothing he could do. "She moved on, but I didn't. I never did. I still love her."

It was then that she felt her heart reach out for him. She felt the need to console him, but she didn't know how. Videl had no idea how hard his life was. Well, she had an idea after what Lime had filled her in on yesterday. Gohan was worse off than she. He and his little brother was an orphan and were adopted. Gohan had blamed himself for his parents' death and never got over them. Even when he dated Lime, his mind was somewhere else.

"Oh God, I don't know how I'm going to handle the meeting with _Robby_ tomorrow," he said sadly. "I'll probably mess it up and then Lime will hate me even more." Gohan ran a frustrated hand through his hair and sighed in exasperation.

Videl frowned. He was definitely in a tight situation and she was feeling generous at the time, so… "If you like, I can go with you so that it won't feel awkward for you," she offered.

Her offer got Gohan's attention. He stared at her strangely at first, but then slowly smiled gratefully. "Thanks." He hadn't thanked anyone in such a long time it felt weird, but also good at the same time.

* * *

It's been quite a while since the last time I updated, huh? Well, I doubt that anyone's really reading this, so I decided to take a little more time. I know that this isn't the best chapter, but writer's block can really be a pain sometimes. Anyways, I hope whoever is reading will enjoy this. Until next time, see ya. 


	8. Agonizing Meeting

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z belongs to Toriyama Akira and will never be mine.

**Discovering Gohan**

_Agonizing Meeting_

He had been dreading this day ever since Lime had told him of Robby. Right now Gohan was pacing around the middle of the Briefs residence at such speed and ferocity that Videl wouldn't be surprised if the rug would sudden sprout a hole or five.

"Stop pacing, it's not the end of the world," said Videl, a hand resting against the side of her face.

Gohan stopped briefly to look at her before resuming the pacing. "You do not understand what I'm feeling. As a matter of fact, you're just sitting there!"

Videl rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks for pointing out the obvious," said the raven-haired girl sarcastically.

Another muffled groan escaped the troubled boy's lips as he now ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Exasperated, he glanced on the watch strapped to his wrist before continuing with his pacing.

_I'm amazed he hasn't gone bad yet_, she thought dryly to herself. "Well you just relax! We still have an hour until we're supposed meet them Orange Star Café."

"An hour… an hour isn't much! Do you know how much could go wrong in an hour?" returned Gohan.

The raven-haired girl admitted to be quite startled about this totally new and panicky Gohan. Videl sighed and said as calmly as she could, "If you keep thinking those thoughts, things _will _turn out bad, now get your act together! I didn't agree to be your date for today so that you could screw up and made a spectacle of yourself!"

That seemed to have done the trick because before she knew it, Gohan had calmed down enough to straighten out his clothes and fix his messy hair, not like he could've done anything about it anyway. He noticed when he glanced at Videl that she wasn't wearing her usual baggy white shirt and bicycle shorts. Instead, she wore a nice white top and a pair of jeans which happened to show her figure a lot better compared to her other outfit.

"You look nice," he managed to choke out through his attempt to flatten his hair.

That complement was enough to tint the girl's cheeks a nice pink, thought she didn't know why she felt that way when _he_ said it not anyone else. Videl grinned through her slight blush. "You wouldn't look that bad if you hadn't caused a hole in the living room floor or appear as if a tornado hit."

Gohan rolled his eyes at her comment and opted to go change into a more suitable outfit. Within minutes, he returned in a black dress shirt, black pants, and black shoes.

"Trying to make a statement?" questioned Videl.

The demi-saiyan ignored her comment and gestured her toward the car. "We should get going now."

"But we still have a lot of time," protested the raven-haired girl.

"Yeah… well, better early than late," replied Gohan, practically shoving the girl out the door.

"You two are going so soon?" called Bulma from the kitchen.

"We'll be back in a few hours!" returned Gohan who was already halfway out the door.

Bulma sighed. She just didn't understand teenagers even though she had went through that phase herself. Bulma just shrugged off the thought and returned her attention to the new recipe she had received in the mail. With a smile on her face, the blue-haired scientist prepared to face the most difficult challenge she had yet to face: cooking.

* * *

"In case you haven't noticed Gohan, the tomorrow has not come since the last ten seconds you glanced at the watch," said a rather bored Videl who was currently twirling her straw around in her drink. 

"I know, but I just can't help it," returned Gohan who had somehow managed to calm himself down enough to sit still. This was the moment he had been dreading, the moment that would shred his heart to pieces. No matter how much he wanted to beg for forgiveness, he knew that it would be hopeless. He just hoped that this Robby would take good care of Lime or else he would tear that boy to shreds. Luckily for Gohan, that didn't seem to be a problem with his superhuman strength.

Gohan took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. He couldn't afford to lose his cool here, especially in front of Videl. Although he hadn't known her that long and was appreciative of her willingness to help, he couldn't help but be wary of her. There was just something about her that screamed trouble.

"Hey, when did you get this scar," wondered Videl, pointing to the patch of skin on his hand.

Immediately, Gohan tucked his hand away and sent her an icy glare that sent more than shivers down her spine. "That's none of your business."

Dumbfounded with the sudden change of behavior, Videl didn't know how to act around this boy anymore. One minute he was a nervous wreck, the next he was as cold as ice, no pun intended seeing as when she accidentally brushed his hand she was surprised to find how cold it was. She was just trying to break the ice by asking an innocent question, but apparently he took it to heart and looked ready to kill her at any moment. How strange could this boy be? Videl had finally managed to open him up to her yesterday, and now, well… let's not talk about it.

Gohan grimaced as memories of the fight suddenly filled his mind. Yes, it was the scar he had earned from saving Vegeta from Cell's blast all those years ago. Although Dende had healed the wound, the scar had never gone away. It was a constant reminder of his failure as a fighter and as a son. If it weren't for his arrogance, Goku might've still been here. But he chose to throw common sense out of the window, which just so proved to lead to deadly consequences. The scar that ran down the length of his arm was a burn to his heart. Not only was it a reminder of his failure, it was a reminder of how his _saiyan_ side had taken over. He hated his saiyan side and all the bloodlust it had caused him during battles.

When Videl had pointed out the scar, it was like pouring salt on old wounds that would never heal, no matter how much time was given. He glanced at his watch again, and this time, surprisingly, he did not panic nor did he show any other emotion on his face.

"They should be here soon," said Gohan quietly.

Wisely, Videl chose to nod to his observation and not to say anything that could anger the boy anymore than she already had.

After what seemed like an eternity, Gohan felt that it was safe enough to talk to the raven-haired girl he had scared without any trace of anger in his voice. It always took a while for him to recover after having those unwanted memories resurface. "Listen, Videl, I'm sorry if I offended you," he began, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had befallen upon them.

Videl bit her lip, not knowing what to say to this sudden apology.

"It's just that I got that scar through something very stupid that I had done a few years ago and it just brings back painful memories," said Gohan calmly. "My dad died because of what I did and I got this scar in return," he said, forcing the words out.

"I… I don't know what to say… except, sorry," said Videl solemnly. "I shouldn't have pried. I'm also sorry about your dad. My mother died, so I understand what you're going through."

"It's all right," the demi-saiyan managed to choke out.

His eyes were downcast, but Videl knew what he felt. After all, she too had lost a parent dear to her. Her mother had died of cancer when Videl was seven. Just the thought of her opened up wounds in her heart. Videl raised her hand and placed it on Gohan's and gave him a soft reassuring smile. She had no idea what had came over her, or what gave her the nerve to do such a thing, but she didn't regret the action because Gohan returned the smile and squeezed her hand in return.

"I'm sorry, but are we interrupting something?" asked a masculine voice.

Both Videl and Gohan untangled their hands and stared up at the owner of the voice in confusion. Neither knew who he was nor what he wanted. Gohan prepared himself for a fight in case this person proved deadly. The boy was rather tall and had short brown hair with matching hazel eyes. Then suddenly, the unexpected happened. Lime appeared right behind the boy with a huge smile on her face.

"L-Lime?" sputtered Gohan and Videl simultaneously.

Lime smiled and plopped down in the seat across from Videl. "In the flesh! Oh, and this is my boyfriend, Robby, the one I've been telling you about. Robby, Gohan and Videl. Gohan and Videl, Robby."

"Yes, yes. I've heard so much about you, Robby. Nice to meet you," Gohan forced out with a fake smile. In order to make the act even more convincing, he stood up and shook the boy's hand.

Videl repeated the gesture and returned to her seat beside Gohan.

It wasn't long before a waitress walked up to the group and took their orders. After the waitress left, Lime and Robby began to chat happily, oblivious to the world around them. Just the sight of those two brought ached Gohan's heart, though he made sure that his eyes hid all emotions. However, the clenching of his fists did not go unnoticed by Videl. She thought of reaching out to comfort him, but thought better of it. Videl wasn't sure whether or not Gohan would take her reassurance, so she decided to just watch concernedly instead.

After what seemed like an eternity, Gohan stood up from the table and excused himself for some fresh air. Videl knew the real reason for Gohan's departure and excused herself as well, much to the confusion of Lime and Robby.

* * *

It didn't take long for Videl to spot out Gohan, though she could've sworn his hair flashed gold for a minute. She blinked and thought that it was probably her eyes playing tricks on her. When she neared the demi-saiyan, she could sense the distress from him. Hesitantly, she carefully placed a hand on his shoulder. 

He turned to greet her with the most heartbroken and melancholy eyes she had ever seen. The way his eyes looked at her spoke volumes. He needed someone to catch him when he fell and these were one of those times that Videl would actually help anyone.

At first it seemed weird when he latched onto her, but she knew that he was not in his right state of mind. Again, hesitantly, she brought her arms up around the tall boy and held him in an embrace. To others outside on the small balcony of the restaurant, it might've seemed like a weird to scene to see the girl comforting the boy, but they chose not to say anything and just continued with their lives. Gohan gritted his teeth and held her tighter, almost as if she would disappear if he let go.

Videl didn't mind the added pressure or the fact that her shirt was getting soaked from the boy she was holding in her arms. It still seemed very weird to her how strong Gohan could appear to be when in front of others, but when he was by himself of dropped his guard, he was just like any other lost boy. This was what Videl admired about Gohan. She admired how strong he could appear to be in front of others, but she found it a pity that his past was the cause of the pain he kept locked up to himself.

"Just let it all out," she whispered to his ear soothingly.

Strangely enough, Gohan found himself very comfortable in her presence and found it very easy for him to release all his pent up frustrations. It was as she could make everything better just by simply being there, and holding him the way she was holding him right now. He felt free. He wasn't that lost lonely little boy that everyone ignored, no, with her, he was just Gohan.

After a while, Gohan pulled himself away from her and reached into his pocket for a handkerchief to wipe his face with. Gohan took a deep shaky breath and laughed. "I'm sorry for being my little outburst. I guess I'm not as strong as I thought I was."

Videl's eyes softened at the sight of his still slightly shaky form. "Everyone needs to let out his or her emotions once in a while."

"I guess," said Gohan with a small smile as he looked up at the darkening sky.

Videl thought that his smile seemed very cute and wished that he would smile more often, though she knew that it was sort of useless. There was no way he would smile unless he settled whatever was bothering him, and from the looks of things, that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.

"She was my first love," he whispered just loud enough for Videl to hear. Her ears perked up at his words, but she did not quite understand where this was going. "My only love," he continued with a small sad smile. "Our relationship ended on a rather sad note. It was my fault that I drove her away with this stupid obsession of mine."

Videl was about to say something, but chose not to seeing as Gohan was about to continue.

"I'm pathetic, huh? Not only am I grieving over my deceased parents, but over my ex-girlfriend who _I_ had driven away. How cruel life can be," said Gohan with a wry smile. "My father died because of a mistake I made and my mother giving birth to my little brother," he whispered more to himself than to Videl, but she heard it anyway. When he looked up at her, she felt her heart skip a beat. His onyx eyes bore into her cerulean ones for what seemed like an eternity before Videl broke the eye contact.

"Why is it that when I'm with you, I feel like I could tell you everything? That all my problems don't matter anymore? And that everything has been lifted from my shoulders?" asked Gohan just loud enough for her to hear.

"I… I don't know," Videl returned in a whisper.

He smiled again, but this time with his eyes closed, his elbows propping him up when leaning on the railing of the balcony.

Feeling bold, Videl reached out to grab his arm, startling him out of his reverie. "Let's leave this place." When he didn't respond, but look at her bewilderedly, she continued, "We could go to the movies and grab something to eat on the way home."

This time he gave her a genuine smile out of gratitude and hope that everything would turn out all right as he was being dragged back into the building. After leaving behind an even more bewildered Lime and Robby, the duo headed off toward the nearest cinema.

* * *

"That was the worst movie I have ever seen," commented Gohan, sipping on his soda. 

Videl rolled her eyes. "If that was the worst you have seen, then you haven't seen my dad's collection of martial arts tournaments."

Gohan couldn't help but snigger at her comment, knowing very well how the tournament had went down the drain the last few times it came around. "Strange, I have never noticed this place being here before."

"Well, that's because rich people tend to go to fancier restaurants while the poor folk come to places like these," supplied Videl, munching on the fries on her plate.

"I wasn't always rich you know," said Gohan dryly.

"Neither was I," returned Videl with a triumphant smile.

"Okay, then you beat me there," said Gohan in surrender, finishing off the rest of his steak.

"Hurry up, I want to bring you somewhere," said Videl, pushing her nearly finished food aside.

Gohan sighed. What was the point to finish eating here? This puny steak wasn't enough to curb his saiyan appetite. He was planning on going home to finish his dinner anyway. So he finished off what he could and left with the raven-haired girl.

To say that the demi-saiyan was surprised to be flown to such a place would be an understatement. He was shocked and rooted to the spot Videl had decided to drop them off at. "I… I…" was all he could get through gaping mouth before he closed it and forced out, "Why did you bring me here?" The pain was evident in his voice.

Videl looked at him a little worriedly, but placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I know that this isn't exactly the place you wanted to go to, but I feel as if you _should_ come here. Blaming yourself won't bring your parents back, so I figured visiting them now should make amends for all the times you neglected to come here."

Still he stood there, rooted to the spot. He couldn't believe that he had been dragged here without his knowledge. Did he actually believe she was going to bring him to somewhere like an amusement park? No. Common sense had once again left him. He barely even registered Videl moving to the back of her jet to remove the three bouquets of flowers from the trunk. So this was what those were for.

The daughter of Mr. Satan dropped two bouquets into Gohan's empty arms before walking off toward another direction. No doubt visiting her mother, thought Gohan. Gohan closed his eyes, trying to push the pain in his heart away, but finding it useless. There was no use. He was here and this was where they lay. Summing up the courage he knew he had somewhere deep within him, Gohan trudged forward. Each step felt like his leg was attached to a few dozen tons, but he managed to get through half of the cemetery before stopping. Swallowing, Gohan bent down and placed the bouquets in the holes provided.

"Mom, dad," began Gohan, his voice breaking. At least their graves were right next to each other and not far apart so if he broke down and didn't want to visit the other parent, it wouldn't be a problem. "It's me, Gohan." Tears were pricking his eyes, but he didn't care. "I'm sorry I haven't visited you in six years. It's just that it hurts to come here, to accept the fact that you're no long with us." He smiled weakly. "Mom, you should be glad to know that Goten is as fine and healthy like the day you gave birth to him. He's growing really fast and really strong too."

Closing his eyes, he continued to speak. "Don't worry, mom, I've drilled it into Goten that he should keep up his studies if he were to fight. Dad, I bet you should be glad to know that I've gotten a lot stronger since we fought Cell. But if only I had done what you had told me to, you wouldn't be there! You'd be here with Goten and I, perhaps mom if she could've survived giving birth to Goten. I… I'm sorry. I'm not the son you wanted me to be. I'm weak, even though I appear to be otherwise on the outside." He opened his eyes to reveal dark cold onyx eyes. "I already promised Lime that I would not wish for our lives to be normal humans, but I don't know how long I can keep it. Life is hard without you and there isn't a day that goes by when I don't wonder what life would be if we were normal human beings and not saiyans." Gohan ran a hand in frustrated through his unkempt hair. "I'm not going to wish that yet, but it's only a matter of time until I do," he said with a pained voice.

At that time, Videl chose to come over to Gohan, but stopped in her tracks when she noticed that he was not done talking. She was about to leave when the next part of his little speech caught her ears.

"As for Lime… I don't think I'm quite over her yet. Even though it's been quite a few years since we broke up, I don't think I ever really got over her. It really pains me to see her with her new boyfriend, but then again, what could I do? I was the one who drove her away. I was the one who caused this mess, so I can't really blame her." Releasing a deep sigh, he continued, "No matter how long it takes, I don't think I'm ever going to stop loving her. It's one of those things that stay in your heart forever, even if you're with another person." He gave them another weak smile. _But then again, I could be wrong. What I feel around Videl is so different from what I felt around Lime. I never felt so comfortable around another person before and that's saying a lot. Could this mean something? I… I don't know what to do,_ he thought to himself. "Well, it's getting late. I guess I should thank Videl for this little visit, eh? Heh, thanks to her, I have the courage to come visit more often. You can count on that. Well, I'm going to go now."

When he turned around to go, he was quite surprised to see Videl standing off to side, waiting for him though he did not show his surprise on his face.

"Are you done?" she asked carefully.

He nodded and began walking toward the other end of the cemetery. "Thanks for the flowers," he said, reaching into his pocket for some money to reimburse her with.

"Don't," said Videl, pushing his hands away. "Consider it a little gift from me to you."

Giving her one last smile, he turned away from her and drove home in his own de-capsulated car. _Could it be that I'm starting to fall for her?_

* * *

"How was your night, Gohan?" asked a concerned Bulma. She knew of Gohan's little rendezvous and she was genuinely concerned for him. 

"Interesting," was all he offered before heading off toward his room.

Bulma raised an eyebrow at his answer and decided that she'd ask him tomorrow. For now… that cake she made wasn't looking too great.

* * *

Yes, I know that I'm terrible with updating. I keep saying that I'm going to update soon even though I don't. (shrugs) well, what can you do? Anyways, I know that this is sort of _way_ off from the original **The Wretched Life of Our Hero**, but this was how I originally intended the story to be before an action bug crept up on me. Anyway, action fans, I'm sorry to say that you won't be getting that for quite a while. This is more of a Gohan and Videl type of thing now. 

Like I've said million times before, though probably not here, I know that there are errors littered everywhere. I neither care nor will do anything about it. Usually when writing, I only concentrate on writing and fix all the grammatical errors later. Well, I hope you enjoyed this rather… interesting… chapter and review! Eh… for my sake, review and give me some sort of support or knowledge that people are reading this. Oh yeah….**hopefully** the next chapter will come out soon.


	9. Crush

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z belongs to Toriyama Akira and will never be mine.

**Discovering Gohan**

_Crush_

Videl wondered how Gohan was doing after what happened two days ago. The poor guy looked like he was going to break down and shatter into a million pieces. Luckily, he seemed to be all right, even though it appeared as if a dark cloud followed him home.

When the school bell rang, Videl was more than relieved to see Gohan walk through the door without a sour expression; as a matter of fact, she was relieved he showed up at all. He took his usual seat beside her and greeted her the usual way, a nod in her direction.

She noted wryly that Lime came as well, but in a cheery mood.

Class seemed to pass by in slow motion, sitting between those two. Lime would try to talk to Gohan, but he remained quiet, even to Videl. Eventually, the bell rang, signifying the end of first period.

As Videl walked out the door, she noticed that Gohan waited for her outside, which was odd since he never waited for her before. "How are you feeling?" she asked, hoping that he'd answer.

To her surprise, he replied, "Much better than before." After taking a quick glance behind him, he returned his gaze to his female friend. "Is there something you want to ask me? You seem kind of off."

Biting her bottom lip, she nodded. "Why were you avoiding Lime at first?"

He seemed to stiffen at her question, but continued walking down the hall with her. "I'm not quite ready to face her yet, you know with what happened the other night and all."

"I see," said Videl softly. "But you seem to be in a better mood than the other night."

He smiled and wrapped an arm around her, bringing her close for a one-armed hug. "Yeah, all thanks to you. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't there."

"Hopefully not kill the guy," she said with a smile and rosy cheeks.

Noticing her red face, Gohan asked, "Are you hot or something? Your face is kinda red."

Breaking out of his hug, she quickly replied, "No, not at all. Anyway, we better get going or we'll be late."

Nodding, Gohan followed her.

* * *

Victoria frowned and shoved the chair that managed to tumble onto her when the ship landed. This whole landing business was still new to her since she never had the need to land before. Therefore, when she chose to come to Earth, where with lots of research, found that the last of the Saiyans resided. Since she never used any of the controls aside from the hologram machine, she was quite confused as to how to control the ship, let alone fly it. 

After succeeded in getting back onto her own two feet, Victoria took out a small tracker. The nearest Saiyan was approximately a hundred miles away. Well, it looked as if she better get going if she wanted to find him or her.

* * *

Gohan reached into his pocket and took out a ring he had bought yesterday at a store. It seemed normal enough with a small design in the center, but if one were to look closely, you'd discover that there was actually a chip wedged inside. He debated whether or not to give to give it to Videl, but look at her watch that was connected directly to the police station, he knew what he had to do. 

"Um, Videl?"

She looked up from her lunch and looked at him curiously, wondering what he wanted. "Yeah, what is it?"

He presented her the ring. "Here's a little thanks for your support the other night."

She shifted her gaze from the ring back to him and forced herself to say," I can't accept it."

"Why not?"

Biting her bottom lip, she responded, "Because you're my friend, and I did what a friend's supposed to do."

Gohan didn't know why felt a little hurt when she mentioned that they were only friends. Clearing his head, he continued with his persistence. "And as a friend, I'm giving you a present."

"Which I cannot accept," she finished for him.

"No, which you will accept if you're truly my friend," he countered.

Videl opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again, not knowing what to say.

He smiled. "I got you there. Come on, just accept it. It's not like I'm giving you a car."

Sighing in defeat, Videl grabbed the ring and put it on her finger. "There, happy?"

"Very," he grinned. In truth, the reason why he was so persistent in giving her the ring was because the chip he placed in the ring was actually a tracking device. With all the crime fighting she did, he was worried that something bad might happen to her one day and that she'd be in over her head, which was why Gohan cleverly hid the tracker in the ring he gave her.

"Aww, don't you two make a cute couple?" cooed Erasa who suddenly appeared behind Videl.

Videl's face started to turn red again, much to her dismay. The raven-haired girl shoved her friend away. "Shut up, Erasa."

The blonde girl just laughed. "You know you love me."

"Yeah, enough to strangle you," added Videl.

Again, the blonde girl laughed and took a seat beside her best friend.

"What do you want? You look happier than usual," noted Videl.

"Well, guess what!"

"If I wanted to guess, I wouldn't have asked," said Videl dryly.

Gohan struggled to bite back a chuckle at that reply.

Erasa ignored her friend and continued with enthusiastic news. "The school is starting a martial arts team and they're having try-outs next week! Isn't this awesome?"

"Uh… sure, Erasa," answered Gohan uncertainly.

"Why would we suddenly create a martial arts team? Isn't basketball, baseball, and soccer enough?" wondered Videl.

"Apparently it was your dad's idea. He wanted to have a martial arts team when he was in school so much that he's sponsoring it all across the nation," supplied Erasa.

"You've got to be kidding," laughed Gohan.

All Videl could do was sigh. "And here we go again. I better talk him out of it before it bombs. He has no idea how few people actually know martial arts." She got up to leave before Gohan beckoned her back.

"Wait, no, don't," called Gohan, "this actually sounds kind of interesting. I wouldn't mind trying out."

"Are you serious?" asked Erasa and Videl simultaneously.

The demi-saiyan shrugged. "Why not? I have some free time."

All Gohan could do was finish his lunch while Videl gaped at him and Erasa cheering like crazy.

* * *

Victoria was puzzled. The tracker said that the nearest Saiyan was amongst a crowd of people. How was she supposed to find him or her? She stayed hovering in the air for a few minutes wondering what to do. She was about to just charge into the crowd when she heard people screaming beneath her. Victoria looked down and to her surprise, people were running off in different directions. Taking a quick glance at her tracker, she was pleased to find that it was going to be easier to locate the Saiyan. 

Landing on the ground, she looked around for the Saiyan that was beeping on her tracker. Luckily for her, two people started walking toward her and one of them was definitely who she was seeking. One was a girl and the other was a rather cute boy.

"I don't know what you are or why you're here, but you better have a good reason," said a girl with crossed arms.

Victoria looked her up and down and frowned. "_You're not who I'm looking for. You're too weak_," she said in Raishuian.

The girl raised an eyebrow and looked to her companion. "Gohan, do you have any idea what she just said?"

Gohan shrugged. "I don't know, but I do have a gadget at home that can translate any language."

"Is there any chance that you can bring her to your house peacefully?" wondered Videl.

"I'll give it a try," said Gohan, who was about to step forward before Videl stopped him. He looked at her questioningly.

"I'll go. She'll probably hurt you," offered Videl.

Gohan smiled wryly, but allowed his friend to do as she pleased.

Videl stepped up to the girl, waiting for her to something, other than speak in a language she didn't understand.

Victoria tried to sidestep Videl in order to get a better view of her companion, but was blocked by Videl each and every time. "_Would you move?_"

Videl had no idea what the alien girl said, so she merely raised an eyebrow. "Look, I have no idea who you are or what you want, but I just want to bring you somewhere where we could translate what you're saying so that we won't have any misunderstand-"

Victoria was sick of this girl who stood in her way speaking gibberish, so she did the first thing she could think of: shove the girl aside. Unfortunately for the Raishuian, she didn't know her own strength when compared to humans and ended up sending Videl flying into a wall.

Alarmed, Gohan immediately went to Videl's side and sighed in relief when he found her pulse. She was alive, but unconscious. Angered, he turned his gaze back to the foreign girl. "I don't know who you think you are, but you have no right to hurt my friend." After a quick ki search, he was relieved to find that there was no one around them so he was free to power up. After reaching Super Saiyan, Gohan immediately attacked the alien.

Victoria could tell that he was angry, but it was an accident. Well, sort of. Sure she was currently fighting an enraged Saiyan, which was sort of what she wanted, but she didn't quite expect him to a cutie. Therefore, she couldn't fight to her full capacity and was losing in this fight, being too preoccupied thinking about her new crush.

Unfortunately for her, her lack of attention to the fight cost her dearly and before she knew it, she was knocked out.

Gohan flew the two girls back to Capsule Corp., all the while hoping that Videl would be all right and that her injuries weren't too bad.

* * *

It turns out that Videl had a few broken bones and that a senzu bean was required. No doubt Bulma and the others were beyond worried when he brought the both of them back to Capsule Corp. unconscious. After explaining what happened, they locked up the alien girl and treated Videl. 

Videl woke up to a bright light shining in her eye a couple hours later. Groaning, she turned her head to the side to find Gohan sitting by her side. "Um, hi?"

"Hi," he said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"All right, if you ignore the ringing in my head," she replied with a small smile.

Placing a hand on hers, he said, "I hope you get better soon. I'll bring you home a few hours. Apparently the girl who attacked you earlier is also awake. Right now we're trying to hold her down long enough to use the translator on her."

"Can I come?"

"What?" he asked, puzzled. "Are you sure? I mean, you just woke up and she _did_ attack you."

Videl frowned. "Yeah. I want to find out the reason why she attacked me."

Gohan raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you want to strangle her."

"How did you know?" replied the raven-haired girl with a smile.

The demi-saiyan laughed. "Okay, but promise you'll hold back until we can ask her a few questions."

* * *

Well, it would appear that it's been half a year since the last time I updated. I apologize for my horrible updating habit, but let's just say that writing hasn't really been my hobby as of late, not to mention writer's block is a pain in the butt. Anyways, here's chapter 9 and it's really getting different from the original story. So, enjoy and don't forget to leave a comment on your opinions of my story. 


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